“I DESIRE MERCY, NOT SACRIFICE”
Today,
we share in God’s gift of loving mercy. Let us strive to imitate His mercy and
compassion, allowing our words and actions to be the fruit of our worship!
The Jewish Law
regarding rest on the Sabbath was very strict. It’s no wonder, then, why the
Pharisees reacted when they saw the disciples walking through a field of grain
and pulling off the heads of grain to eat. Following the strict adherence of
the Law, the Pharisees accused them of violating the Sabbath. It was one of
thirty-nine works which rabbis counted as a violation of the Sabbath rest.
Some questions you
might ask yourself and reflect upon regarding today’s Scripture readings might
be: What does the Commandment “Keep holy the Sabbath Day” require of us? Or
better yet, “What is the primary intention behind this Commandment?” The
religious leaders confronted Jesus on this issue. The “Sabbath rest” is meant
to be a day set apart for praising God, and a time to remember and celebrate
His goodness and the goodness of His work, both in creation and redemption. It
was intended to bring everyday work to a halt and provide time for rest and
refreshment.
When the Pharisees
objected to what the disciples were doing, Jesus came to their defense. He
pointed out that when David was in danger of his life from King Saul, he begged
for food from the Priest, Ahimelech. The Priest, having nothing else to offer
them, gave them the showbread of the sanctuary, which was ordinarily reserved
for sacred purposes only. The point Jesus is making is that in God’s mind,
human needs take precedence over ritual Laws.
A careful examination
reveals a still deeper point. When He reminds His hearers that God desires
mercy and not sacrifice, Jesus is not condemning the act of ritual sacrifice.
Instead, He wants them to understand that since the purpose of sacrifice is to
bring us into closer union with God, worship should also unite us and make us
more like God. And, what is God like? Today’s first reading shows us two
aspects of God – His compassion and His mercy.
As a result of
Pharaoh’s obstinacy in not letting the Israelites leave the land of Egypt,
God made a promise to Moses and Aaron. He set down the actions and preparations
they needed to fulfill in order to save their people. This will be “the
Passover of the Lord” – “a memorial feast” for all generations. Year by year
the people observe these ritual actions in order to remember what God has done
by freeing the Israelites from slavery and leading them to the Promised Land.
By the power of their communal remembrance, the people bring God’s saving
action into the present time. In the Eucharist we, too, are participating in a
“memorial feast.” We are also gathering to remember God’s saving action through
Jesus Christ’s death and Resurrection.
In the Responsorial
Psalm we can sing, “I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of
the Lord” (Ps 116:13). Today, we share in God’s gift of loving mercy. Let us
strive to imitate His mercy and compassion, allowing our words and actions to
be the fruit of our worship!